Crustacean resources of the Lakshadweep islands

Information on the crustacean resources of Lakshadweep is limited to only a few faunistic reports on crabs, prawns, lobsters and stomatopods (Alcock, 1895, 1896, 1998, 1899, 1900; Borradaile, 19C3a, 1903b, 1903c, 1903d, 19o6a, 1906b; Sankarankutty, 196); Thomas 1970a, 1970b, Meiyappan and Kathirvel, 1978; Piilai era/, 1984 and Shanbhogue, 1986) A total of 132 species of brachyuran crabs mostly belonging to Calappidae, Majidae, Parthenopidae, Portunidae, Xanthidae, Ocypodidae and Grapsidae, 4 species of palinurid lobsters, 2 species of scyllarid lobsters, 6 species of penaeid prawns and 7 species of stomatopods have been recorded so far from these islands